Madness and Society

Description

A comparative examination of social conceptions of, and responses to, madness; across cultures and history. The course is oriented to the sociological and anthropological idea that the concept of 'mental illness' is itself fairly recent in Western history, and many other societies do not share it. We will contextualise the idea of madness relative to myth, history, science, religion and culture.

Availability

Ourimbah

Semester 1 - 2015

Callaghan

Semester 1 - 2015

Learning Outcomes

1. An understanding of sociological and anthropological theories of non-normal behaviour across cultures.

2. The ability to critically analyse theoretical and empirical contributions to the understanding of the place of madness in society.